American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam (ABS QE) Practice Test

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What defines a case series study in medical research?

Information about individual patients with a common disease is gathered over time
A type of experimental study that uses a control group
A method focusing on theoretical frameworks without patient data
A study design that randomly allocates interventions to participants

The correct answer is: Information about individual patients with a common disease is gathered over time

A case series study is characterized by the collection of information about individual patients who share a common condition, gathered systematically over a period of time. This design allows researchers to observe the clinical characteristics, treatment responses, and outcomes of patients with a similar diagnosis, contributing to an understanding of the disease's natural history and potential management strategies. By focusing on a specific group of patients with a shared condition, case series studies can provide valuable insights into aspects such as the variability of symptoms, treatment efficacy, and adverse effects, even though they do not utilize control groups or randomization, which are inherent to other study designs like randomized control trials. This context is important in appreciating how a case series can serve as a foundation for generating hypotheses for further research, even if it has limitations in establishing causality.